General:
1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about George and Lennie, inseparable from the day they meet. George is smaller and savvy while Lennie is a gentle, simple giant. They share a dream of having a small farm that is just their won. But to do that, they need to find work. They find some as ranch hands at a small ranch. When they decide to expand their dreams to include their dreams with another ranch hand named Candy their dreams seem within reach. Yet, Lennie is constantly picked on by the bosses son Curley who has a case of small people aggression. Lennie, who is normally gentle, strongly crushes Curley's hand at the insistence from George. It hinders their plans, but they manage to keep it quiet. But Curley's wife poses an even stronger threat to Lennie. She is constantly flirting with him and Lennie can't resist. He loves stroking soft things and she lets him stoke her hair, but when she starts to get scared, Lennie is afraid she is going to make a noise and alert the other people. In the scuffle, Lennie accidentally kills her. An angry mob is after, but only George knows where he is.George finds him and tells Lennie of their plans. Right when Lennie appears most happy, George shots him in the head to give a quick, painless death to save him from the mob.
2. Theme of this novel is the power of friendship. Lennie and Goerge are quite an unusual pair, and they face many difficulties together. They are willing to do anything for one another to stay strong as friends. George feels like he is Lennie's caretaker, and it shows when he decides to be the one to kill Lennie. Harsh it may seem, but Lennie felt it was best for his friend.
3. Steinbeck's tone is diminishing somber. George and Lennie have done everything they can to try to set up their desired future but no matter what it goes astray. The tone really shows this.
4.
1. Setting- Being during the Great Depression, it shows how important George and Lennie's bond is.
2. Imagery- Steinbeck includes a part where Lennie sees his Mom in his own head. The imagery he uses shows how Lennie thinks at times.
3. Direct Characterization- Steinbeck wants us to know George and Lennies well, so he comes out and describes them exactly how he wants the reader to see them right away.
4. Foreshadow- Steinbeck foreshadow's Lennie's fate often through the novel.
5. Parallel Characters- Curly's Wife is shown by a puppy that Lennie likes to pet but accidentally killed because he liked it so much.6. Parallel Events George sees how Candy had to be the one to put his own dog out of misery. So when it came time, George made sure he did it for Lennie.
7. Character symbols- Many characters symbolized different things, Curly's wife temptation, George reason, Curley aggression, and Lennie simplicity.
Characterization:
1. Both George is described as "large and dark of face" and Lennie described as "gentle giant" right in the beginning directly. Indirectly, we learn more about them as they fulfill their character outlines by their actions, such as Lennie loving the soft puppy, or George telling Lennie to protect himself from Curley and to avoid Curley's wife, we learn more about them indirectly.
2. Steinbeck changes his diction and syntax between characters often. For Lennie it must be simple and kind. For George, it must be sharp and direct. For Curley, it must be aggressive. The list goes on.
3. The protagonists are both flat. Lennie never stops being simple and loving the simple hings, and Geoge never stops trying to help Lennie, regardless of the circumstances.
4. I met people. The story is so tragic and every character has flaws i see everyday, i really felt like i meet two men who shared a strong companionship.
